ptienpasertkij
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hello all,
I'm pretty new to this forum so I'm still working my way around here. I tried looking up this issue on other threads, but didn't quite find an appropriate response to what I'm facing.
I currently picked up some new fish (neon tetras, bloodfin tetras, and some guppies) from the LFS yesterday. As with all my fish, I place them in a 20 gallon quarantine tank prior to rehoming them into my planted display tanks to make sure they don't introduce unwanted parasites or diseases into my stocked tanks. I typically monitor them for approximately a week and if they show no signs of lethargy, ich, or common illnesses, then I go ahead and place them into my display tanks.
About three hours after my fish have been in the quarantine tank, they are still behaving fine, none of them being lethargic or gasping for air. However, I am noticing some of my tetras have a slightly reddened gill (see picture below).
I am not sure if this is because of their semi-transparent nature or if it's something I should be concerned about. From looking it up online, I keep seeing ammonia burn as a common issue, but I checked my water parameters and they are as follows:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
pH: 7.6
gH: 80ppm (4.8 dgH)
kH: 40ppm (2.23 dkH)
Chlorine: 0ppm
(Ammonia - Nitrite - Nitrate - pH - gH - kH - Chlorine): 0, 0, 20, 80, 40
This is my quarantine process and setup:
SETUP:
I have a 20-gallon tank setup with no plants - similar to a breeding/nursing tank. I also have an airstone strip (12") to help oxygenate the water as well as a HOB filter and a heater. The water temperature is set to 78 F (25.5 C) and is measured to be between 76-78 F with a thermometer. This tank has been running for over two years now with a sponge filter that I take from my established tank to make sure there's enough beneficial bacteria to handle the bioload of the incoming fish.
PROCESS:
Once I get home from the LFS, I place the bags in the water (sealed) for about 30-40 minutes to equalize the temperature. Once I open the bags, I use the drop and plop method where I drain all the contents of the bag into a Home Depot bucket through a fish net to prevent contaminating the quarantine tank water with the LFS water. The pH of my LFS and my quarantine tank water is about the same. Once all the fish are in the quarantine tank, I dose the tank with API General Cure, E.M. Erythromycin, and Super ICK Cure. I monitor the fish over the next couple hours to observe any unusual behavior and check water conditions at the end of the day to make sure there isn't any ammonia spike. As I mentioned, I keep an eye on them for about a week before transferring them into my display tanks if they do not show signs of illnesses.
Again, this is my first time posting on this forum so if I'm missing anything, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer! Thanks again to everyone who takes their time to read and help
I'm pretty new to this forum so I'm still working my way around here. I tried looking up this issue on other threads, but didn't quite find an appropriate response to what I'm facing.
I currently picked up some new fish (neon tetras, bloodfin tetras, and some guppies) from the LFS yesterday. As with all my fish, I place them in a 20 gallon quarantine tank prior to rehoming them into my planted display tanks to make sure they don't introduce unwanted parasites or diseases into my stocked tanks. I typically monitor them for approximately a week and if they show no signs of lethargy, ich, or common illnesses, then I go ahead and place them into my display tanks.
About three hours after my fish have been in the quarantine tank, they are still behaving fine, none of them being lethargic or gasping for air. However, I am noticing some of my tetras have a slightly reddened gill (see picture below).
I am not sure if this is because of their semi-transparent nature or if it's something I should be concerned about. From looking it up online, I keep seeing ammonia burn as a common issue, but I checked my water parameters and they are as follows:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
pH: 7.6
gH: 80ppm (4.8 dgH)
kH: 40ppm (2.23 dkH)
Chlorine: 0ppm
(Ammonia - Nitrite - Nitrate - pH - gH - kH - Chlorine): 0, 0, 20, 80, 40
This is my quarantine process and setup:
SETUP:
I have a 20-gallon tank setup with no plants - similar to a breeding/nursing tank. I also have an airstone strip (12") to help oxygenate the water as well as a HOB filter and a heater. The water temperature is set to 78 F (25.5 C) and is measured to be between 76-78 F with a thermometer. This tank has been running for over two years now with a sponge filter that I take from my established tank to make sure there's enough beneficial bacteria to handle the bioload of the incoming fish.
PROCESS:
Once I get home from the LFS, I place the bags in the water (sealed) for about 30-40 minutes to equalize the temperature. Once I open the bags, I use the drop and plop method where I drain all the contents of the bag into a Home Depot bucket through a fish net to prevent contaminating the quarantine tank water with the LFS water. The pH of my LFS and my quarantine tank water is about the same. Once all the fish are in the quarantine tank, I dose the tank with API General Cure, E.M. Erythromycin, and Super ICK Cure. I monitor the fish over the next couple hours to observe any unusual behavior and check water conditions at the end of the day to make sure there isn't any ammonia spike. As I mentioned, I keep an eye on them for about a week before transferring them into my display tanks if they do not show signs of illnesses.
Again, this is my first time posting on this forum so if I'm missing anything, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer! Thanks again to everyone who takes their time to read and help